Next year’s tuition was announced last week and following the tradtion, it is going up yet again. Though many may say that hikes in tuition are inevitable, the staff of The Poly is concerned with the reasons for the increase, and whether or not such a movement will be met with sufficient increases in financial aid.
There are a few potential reasons for this action. The construction going on around campus is expensive. The Biotech Center is nearing completion and ground was just broken for eMPAC. Plans were also recently unveiled for the east campus development project. Fiscal difficulties are visible across the board and in all departments, as has been voiced by many professors around campus. But, we have to ask, is it really necessary to start a project like eMPAC or east campus development right now? Perhaps these projects could wait until the Institute is more secure financially.
The increases in tuition especially affect the students who cannot afford to attend RPI without financial aid. With the proposed decrease in TAP funding for New York state residents, we are especially concerned with whether RPI is somehow going to make up for both the increase in tuition and the decrease in state aid.
If tuition continues increasing at its current rate, it will surpass the $30,000 mark after next year. Many students came to RPI because they felt that it was open to all students. By crossing this threshold, RPI could be considered an elitist institution only accessible to the upper class.
While we understand some of the need for this action, we hope that the administration is carefully considering the effects it could have on students when they go through with it.
